Dec 8, 2014 4 min read

It’s not difficult to understand how Garrett Johnston feels about his quick ascent to head wrestling coach at Chartiers-Houston High School.

The smile on his face when asked tells it all.

Johnston came into the fall expecting to be the assistant coach to Jeff Havelka, who took over after Bill Sutton resigned last spring. Then, a series of decisions changed all that.

First, John Yates, the former head coach at Waynesburg High School who was Ron Headlee’s assistant at Waynesburg University, decided to change his status to volunteer assistant coach to spend more time with his family.

That left an assistant coaching position open and Headlee decided Havelka, who wrestled at Burgettstown High School and is the son of wrestling coach Terry Havelka, would make a great assistant coach. He offered Havelka the job in November.

Havelka, who enjoyed being at C-H but always wanted to get into college coaching, decided to take the job because, well, how many opportunities are there to coach college wrestling a short drive from home?

The Chartiers-Houston School Board, needing a coach to replace Havelka, chose Johnston, who wrestled on some good West Greene teams before heading to Waynesburg University.

“It’s been going good,” Johnston said at the Chartiers-Houston Tournament over the weekend. “The guys are working hard and we have some talent. I want this program to win and have big crowds and faithful people following it. I remember when I was at West Greene and we wrestled Waynesburg. You couldn’t fit another person in the gym. It was a great atmosphere to wrestle in and that’s what it’s like here.”

The Bucs finished in 11th place in the two-day tournament and had four medal-winners, including runner-up Josh Kuslock at 126.

Johnston wants to build a strong varsity program.

“It starts in the youth,” he said. “Good things happen to people who work hard. Good things happen, but maybe not when you expect it. I want our people to be gentlemen. I want our kids to be determined to win and have a good work ethic. I want them to be good people first. And I want to get kids to the state tournament.”

Johnston said Havelka told him about the job opportunity early, and it did not surprise him.

“It was a great opportunity for him,” Johnston said. “I always wanted to coach high school wrestling, and he always wanted to coach college. Jeff and I are good friends. When an opportunity arises like that, you can’t wait.”

Johnston is the second former West Greene wrestler serving as a head coach in the area. Kory Bissett is the other, leading West Greene.

While wrestling at Waynesburg University, Johnston was a two-time champion and one-time runner-up in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference tournament. He was a four-time regional qualifier and finished sixth in the region in his senior season at West Greene. He also was a third-place finisher in the WPIAL Class AA Championships, a three-time section runner-up and four-time letterwinner.

Johnston is an algebra teacher at Chartiers-Houston and thinks that is an advantage.

“Being in the school helps,” he said. “I’m working hard with them and they know they can come and talk to me anytime. I feel they can trust me. I just have to be myself.”

The high school schedule Wednesday has two early showdowns with Canon-McMillan wrestling rival Trinity in Section 4-A in Class AAA and Jefferson-Morgan travelling to McGuffey for a Section 2-A match in Class AA.

The Big Macs are coming off a second-place finish in the Cumberland Valley Invitational, and Trinity placed ninth in the Eastern Area Tournament at Gateway High School.

Gavin Teasdale, the heralded freshman from Jefferson-Morgan, won his first four bouts of his varsity career en route to the 106-pound title at Gateway. He was joined by teammate Brendan Howard on the medal stand. Howard won at 120.

McGuffey is coming off a 3-2 performance at the Hampton Duals. The Highlanders defeated Ellwood City, 58-5, Avonworth, 60-12, and Shaler, 42-28. The losses came against Mt. Lebanon, 37-35, and Fox Chapel, 42-27.

Two Highlanders, Gage Nicolella (120) and Luke Desmond (138), left with 5-0 records.